oman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Thursday, 16 October 2014

Roman Catholic The Word Among Us Daily Mass Reading & Daily Meditation for Thursday, 16 October 2014
Meditation: Ephesians 1:1-2 I, Paul, am under God’s plan as an apostle, a special agent of Christ Jesus, writing to you faithful believers in Ephesus. I greet you with the grace and peace poured into our lives by God our Father and our Master, Jesus Christ.
The God of Glory
3-6 How blessed is God! And what a blessing he is! He’s the Father of our Master, Jesus Christ, and takes us to the high places of blessing in him. Long before he laid down earth’s foundations, he had us in mind, had settled on us as the focus of his love, to be made whole and holy by his love. Long, long ago he decided to adopt us into his family through Jesus Christ. (What pleasure he took in planning this!) He wanted us to enter into the celebration of his lavish gift-giving by the hand of his beloved Son.
7-10 Because of the sacrifice of the Messiah, his blood poured out on the altar of the Cross, we’re a free people—free of penalties and punishments chalked up by all our misdeeds. And not just barely free, either. Abundantly free! He thought of everything, provided for everything we could possibly need, letting us in on the plans he took such delight in making. He set it all out before us in Christ, a long-range plan in which everything would be brought together and summed up in him, everything in deepest heaven, everything on planet earth.
Saint Margaret Mary Alacoque, Virgin
He chose us in him, before the foundation of the world. (Ephesians 1:4)
In 2012, the United Nations estimated that there were 7.2 billion people living on the Earth. And in an even more jaw-dropping statistic, the Population Reference Bureau provided a guesstimate in 2011 of how many people have ever lived on earth since the beginning of time: 108 billion! Can you imagine that before God created the world, in the midst of these 108 billion people who would live in it, he knew you perfectly and chose you to be with him?
When we hear that God chose us before the foundation of the world, it can sound so theoretical. We think of “us” as a universal group: God’s people, believers, followers of Christ. And while we are all part of a large group of believers, that doesn’t mean we’re just anonymous members of the crowd. No, our Father’s love for us is not generalized. It is personal and specific for each of us. He loves you for who you are. He loves you in the best way you can be loved.
Today, take the time to consider that before he made the world, before time began, God thought of you and chose you to be his child. Even if there have been 108 billion people living on the earth, it doesn’t matter. You—yes you, with all your quirks and idiosyncrasies—were in the mind of God and in his heart. He created you with a specific purpose, and he longs for you to be with him forever!
Here’s a great way to ponder this amazing truth: take today’s first reading, and wherever you see the word “us,” substitute your name. For example, “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed [your name] in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavens, as he chose [your name] in him, before the foundation of the world, to be holy and without blemish before him.” Reread it slowly a couple of times. Proclaim it out loud. Let God expand your understanding of how much he loves you. Then bask in that love today.
“Father, my heart soars to know that I am in your heart! Help me to receive your personal love today and every day!” Amen!
Psalm 98:1 Sing to God a brand-new song.
He’s made a world of wonders!
He rolled up his sleeves,
He set things right.
2 God made history with salvation,
He showed the world what he could do.
3 He remembered to love us, a bonus
To his dear family, Israel—indefatigable love.
The whole earth comes to attention.
Look—God’s work of salvation!
4 Shout your praises to God, everybody!
Let loose and sing! Strike up the band!
5 Round up an orchestra to play for God,
Add on a hundred-voice choir.
6 Feature trumpets and big trombones,
Fill the air with praises to King God.
Luke 11:47-51 “You’re hopeless! You build tombs for the prophets your ancestors killed. The tombs you build are monuments to your murdering ancestors more than to the murdered prophets. That accounts for God’s Wisdom saying, ‘I will send them prophets and apostles, but they’ll kill them and run them off.’ What it means is that every drop of righteous blood ever spilled from the time earth began until now, from the blood of Abel to the blood of Zechariah, who was struck down between altar and sanctuary, is on your heads. Yes, it’s on the bill of this generation and this generation will pay.
52 “You’re hopeless, you religion scholars! You took the key of knowledge, but instead of unlocking doors, you locked them. You won’t go in yourself, and won’t let anyone else in either.”
53-54 As soon as Jesus left the table, the religion scholars and Pharisees went into a rage. They went over and over everything he said, plotting how they could trap him in something from his own mouth.
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